Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena live, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge....

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Publisher's Summary

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena live, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge....

What the Critics Say

"At its best the trilogy channels the political passion of 1984, the memorable violence of A Clockwork Orange, the imaginative ambience of The Chronicles of Narnia and the detailed inventiveness of Harry Potter." (New York Times Book Review)

"Unfolding in Collins' engaging, intelligent prose and assembled into chapters that end with didn't-see-that-coming cliffhangers, this finale is every bit the pressure cooker of its forebears. [Mockingjay] is nearly as shocking, and certainly every bit as original and thought provoking, as The Hunger Games. Wow." (Los Angeles Times)

"Fans will be happy to hear that Mockingjay is every bit as complex and imaginative as Hunger Games and Catching Fire." (Entertainment Weekly)

Ah... I think after the strong ending in "catching fire" that mockingjay might become more action oriented.

What I didn't bargain on was the book becoming so dark and for so long. I guess Hunger Games and Catching Fire had element of colourful naive adventure in them. Mockingjay is not colourless but dark, confronting and causes a ruckus of emotion in the listener.

I can understand people not liking the book - because it isn't what they had signed up for. They had signed up for light YA games. This is the mature adult reality of life. Suzanne Collins causes the readers to grow up to these issues quite quickly. They need to realise that the book is still beautifully written and narrated. There is still a story and a message.

I think the ending gives closure but not the warm pleasant feeling of a happy ending. Everyone must wish that certain bloody events didn't occur.

I was completely in love after reading Hunger Games. I anxiously waited for Catching Fire and likewise counted the months, then days for the release of Mockingjay. I finished the book, and was just sitting, staring. My husband asked me if I was okay. I wasn't sure. The book was jarring and left me depressed.

The author is a wonderful writer and narrator was great, but the story was grossly disappointing. It always seems that the last chapter of trilogy books are a fast forward, tying up loose ends but there is no depth, just a few words of resolution for the reader. Mockingjay feel into that trap. I adored the first, less so the second because of its abrupt ending, but I was very disappointed in the final installment.

I have read many poor reviews for this final book in the Mockingjay series - to the extent I almost did not read it. Thank goodness I decided to put those aside and form my own opinions. I don't leave this series full of disappointment , frustration or angst. I depart feeling saddened but encouraged - knowing a long due resolution and sense of completeness and hope was provided to the much abused characters.

I was worried I would regret investing in the main characters, but the opposite is true. The author provided both a compelling storyline and a fulfilling resolution to the many difficulties faced throughout this series.

As to those who lament the darkness of the story, the destruction of life, or the poor development of characters - I say they must be idealistically naive souls who have yet to face the realities of this life. There was no indescriminate destruction of life, but a sorrowful depiction of what so often occurs during those horrible situations so commonly arising during war. As to character development, how would you imagine a teenager thrown into horror movie scenarios in an attempt to protect her little sister's life, only to lose so much to the very people she thought were on her side in the end would be affected? To have all illusions shattered at such a critical and tumultuous age would be mind-numbing and life altering at best. Most people would never recover to the point they could live normal lives following such torturous abuse. These strong characters manage to give others hope by not only surviving, but in choosing to LIVE. If you were to lose all that mattered most to you, be physically tortured and mentally attacked brutally and repeatedly, would you be strong enough to face your fears and choose to continue? To be part of a new and hopefully better world? I commend the author for her depth of commitment to an honest depiction and her strength imbued to characters enabling them to embrace the hope needed to survive.

My first reaction to the conclusion was that the book lacked a certain sense of triumph. I wanted good things to happen to characters who I'd come to love. However, I have listened to the book twice, read it once and re-read the last few chapters a number of times. I think Collins point was to make the book as war-like as possible. There is loss. There are many, many things that the survivors will never recover from, yet they live. I thought Collins conveyed the sacrifice of change very well. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

After reading some of the other reviews I was not sure how much I would like this last book. However I knew I had to read it so I would know how the story ended. I am so glad I put the opinion of others aside and read with an open mind to decide for myself if it was a worthy read.I don't think the book could have ended any other way. This is not a story about sunshine and roses (no pun intended). It is about children forced to pay for the sins of their ancestors. The whole subject of the series is dark and disturbing and if you go into it knowing it is not going to be a feel good story your appreciation of the ending is greatly enhanced. Katniss is not a super hero she is a teenager who has been physically, emotionally, and mentally abused. She has been put upon a pedestal against her will and expected to know all the answers, when in fact she is just a child trying to make her way in a harsh cruel world.I like the fact that she doesn't have all the answers, that she breaks down and not always does what is expected. This makes her a much more believable character, much more human. If you pay attention to the personalities of the characters in the story they are all flawed, so it would not fit if she always knew and did the right thing. This is a story about real people with all their faults, not super heroes, which is what makes the story a much better read.The story line is dark and tragic and if you are not able to read about bad things happening to children this is not the series you want to read. It is not a feel good story, but it is very thought provoking. It will make you have second thoughts about the state of our world as we know it today.

This trilogy has to be one of my favorite book series, and this book is a fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy, with a twisted ending. As with all the books it is a quick read, and I think the target audience really is for both adults and teens, but not any younger.

The characters all have major faults and change throughout the book in what I would call a realistic way. One major point to remember is that Katniss is NOT the heroine of the story, but rather a pawn of politics, if you are expecting her to be the great hero in the story you will be sadly disappointed. This book has a different feel than the two other books which are based around the actual Hunger Games, this one's setting is the battlefield between the Districts and the Capitol. This book is very much a tragedy and does not have the type of happy ending ending I was hoping for, although it does tie up the loose ends and I think tried to make the best of the situation and had a very natural and realistic end.

As to be expected whenever a book that you have grown to enjoy comes to an end, you get a bitter sweet feeling. It gets worse when the book ends in a way that you don't really perceive it...

The book was narrated well enough; I think it was done far better in this book more due to the fact that the mental state of the characters in this book suited the narrator's strong area. The narrator does tortured/confused very well... you'll get what I mean when/if you listen to the book.

The book was bitter-sweet at the best. I feel sorry for how scarred and broken most of the characters ended up IMHO and the end of the book seemed somewhat rushed to me. It was good... but not great, definitely not up to the standard of the previous 2 books, but it was good enough. Not horrible to the point where it is unreadable of course, just bitter-sweet overall...

Katniss Everdean is a hero. I love this character. She is a survivor, but she survived with class. She kept her humanity intact in a crazy world. I am wondering how I would do under the same circumstances.

I read Elie Weisel's must-read autobiography, "Night", just after I finished "Mockingjay". Weisel was a jewish teenager when he was taken by the Germans to Auschwitz. He doesn't know why he survived to tell the tale, but he did. The comparison of these two stories hit me hard, and I didn't know which was worse, the true story or the fiction. I think, as bad as Katniss had it, Elie Weisel had it worse. How can we treat other human beings so badly? It is way, way out of my ken, and yet, our society is edging closer and closer to that sort of thing every minute of every day.

The Hunger Games trilogy is a warning to us to hold on to what we have, and most especially, hold on to our humanity.

I can't adequately express my disappointment with the final installment of this triology, it was really lack luster, disappointing, and uninspired...and this is coming from someone that loves this story so much that I scheduled months in advance to have the release date off of work, just so I could sit around and soak up the story.

I'll admit that the series has always been a rather dark one, but it had that underlying promise of hope for a better future, good will triumph evil in the end, etc.. and characters so real that the reader was really invested in their individual stories. However, that aspect was completely missing in this book.

It was almost as if the author wanted to destroy everything and everyone just to make a philisophical point..and I'm not sure what point she was trying to make. We all know that war is terrible, but in every great tragedy their is always something redeeming or hopeful to hold on to. Not in this war; everything of beauty was taken away, everyone is destroyed physically, mentally, or emotionally, and in the end you are just left empty. The last ten pages of the book, meant to be a happy ending?...just aren't enough to redeem the characters, or repair the damage and heartbreak, the reader has experienced.

Having listened to the previous 2 books, I still dislike the narrators flat, monotone voice as the main character...they should not have let her sing for sure. Having said that, her characterisations/voices are better than the main characters voice, which is unusual.

I personally found this final book a little tedious, in spite of the action and was in fact relieved when it was over. Too much tummy button gazing with the internal monologues and spoken thoughts for my taste.

I also found that there was uncessary level of detail on the torture and violence, which was almost continuous throughout the book.

Having said that the plot was interesting with some surprises in store, so if you liked the prevous two books, you will not dislike this one...but not as good as the others in my view.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Miriam

Oslo, Norway

12/5/11

Overall

"At the edge of my seat"

As I had been waiting for since around the end of the first book or the beginning of the second, the Rebellion is in full swing. And while it does not play out like I had expected, it keeps the sense of realism which hooked me on the first book. The unexpectedness of the series in general is one thing that I really like about it.

There are no easy fixes for our main characters, but at the same time it is not all hopelessly dark either. Even though in this book, more than the others, the bright spots are few and far between.

If you have already read the other books, you definitely need to read the ending to the story. But if you have randomly stumbled upon this, and are reading the reviews to see what it's about, go and read/listen to the first book in the series; The Hunger Games.

Because this series does what really great SciFi does, it makes you forget it is about the future, and merely uses a made-up environment as a backdrop to explore the human condition. Though this one is hauntingly close to what we could find real. I found this book to be a wonderful conclusion. True, there is no Hollywood ending where every this is made okay, but it is not a greek tragedy either, where everyone are doomed from the beginning.

This series is quickly become one of my favorites, and I really like Carolyn McCormick's narration of it.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Laura

Neath, United Kingdom

6/15/11

Overall

"Game Over... but do they live happily ever after?"

Katniss Everdeen is still fighting for her life. The Rebels have taken up their weapons in a seemingly useless war against the Capitol and its leader, the maniacal President Snow. Katniss has been used as a catalyst for war, manipulated into becoming The Mockingjay: a figurehead of political resistance, by another would-be-totalitarian leader, when all she ever wanted was to protect those she loves and live out a relatively peaceful existence.

However, the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy offers anything but peace. This is, by far, the most harrowing of the series. The book has received criticism from some for being "too dark", but surely Suzanne Collins needed to be dark in order to deal with the subjects of political oppression, identity crises, PTSD and familial loss? She affords her YA audience the respect of not "dumbing down" the messages of her series.

District 12 is gone. Katniss' best friend, Gale, is slowly becoming as ruthless in his methods as any of the game-makers ever were. And Peeta is gone, his mind "hijacked" by the Capitol so that now whenever he looks at Katniss, he feels the overwhelming urge to kill her. Katniss is slowly losing everything she has and everything she is to the war. And there's more to lose.

If you're looking for happy endings then I can't say that this is a book/series for you. After losing so much, fighting so much and both feeling and causing so much pain, how could Katniss get a fairytale "happily ever after"? She's fighting a war and thus there are inevitable casualties... some of them heart-wrenching.

If, however, you're looking for a great read with characters whose plight will keep you gripped, writing which echoes the dystiopia it weaves, and a heroine who is pretty darn cool, then I can't recommend The Hunger Games Trilogy enough!

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

david

manchester, United Kingdom

5/18/12

Overall

"poor ending!!!!!"

Last book in the trilogy, but really a dissapointing end to a excellent series. The third instalment is poorly paced and at times very badly written with contradictions of things which were mentioned earlier. Leaves a few questions un answered, and with the ending we are given leaves you wondering what was the point of this book being written in the beginning, as it defeats itself in the point it was trying to make.....

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Jennifer

Buckinghamshire, UK

9/2/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Weakest of the trilogy"

Having listened to the first two books I had to finish the series. I had hoped that Catching Fire suffered from 'middle book of trilogy syndrome' and Mockingjay would be an incredible ending... but sadly it was the weakest book of the lot. I found it hard to invest in Katniss and the other main characters (something that wasn't the case in the previous two books) and the plot was far weaker than either of the previous books. I wasn't expecting a happily ever after ending but I was still dissatisfied with the actual ending. It just didn't sit right with me. It is worth listening to if you have read/listened to the other books, but keep your expectations low.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

B. Eaton

Alderley Edge, UK

7/25/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A fitting end"

It bugs me that this story is held up a "young adult" fiction, as it is a thoroughly dark and depressing tale. The Hunger Games trilogy is a dystopian sci-fi. The movies are generally faithful, but the books are better, and the bleak war torn world Suzanne Collins has created is vivid. The only thing that jars a bit is that since it is told in first person through the eyes of Kat is Everdeen, her tendency to get knocked out or injured means that some major events end up happening "off camera". It's like the old Doctor Who "lack of funding or capability to show the events" syndrome: "There's been a major war and 2/3 of the Galaxy is destroyed! Look, here's a paper report about it!".

The end, and indeed the epilogue, feels rushed, but there are some nasty stings in the tail for those who have stuck with the series since Book 1, especially if you have been thinking carefully about the information supplied since the beginning of Book 2.

I thoroughly recommend it - the books aren't excessively long, and I feel that, especially given the crazy popularity of the movies, they will go down as a modern classic. The audio version is well read, although I feel that as good as Carolyn McCormick is I would love to hear a full cast recording with sound effects and music (like the Dune audiobooks). How about it Audible?

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

J. Chambers

uk

7/21/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"I loved the hunger games trilogy"

well narrated book, great storyline with some unexpected outcomes, but brilliant end to the trilogy.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Mr D A Kay

7/18/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Annoying narrator"

Love the books in this trilogy, but this woman's voice is dreadful - so annoying!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Aisha

7/17/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing"

Loved The whole entire series can listen to them over and over again amazing. Can not wait for more wow

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

7/13/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Its good but"

I liked the part about district 13 but it is a hunger game less hunger games so it's not the best I'd recommend reading the other ones.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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